[12][13][14] By May 1945, the escalating pressure from the advancing Red Army led to the division being encircled, causing the remnants to retreat and attempt an escape.

The division's main body elements headed South from Josefov to the direction of Hradec Králové; however, due to a shortage of fuel, they were prevented from advancing further.

[15][16] The unit was dissolved in accordance with orders, and most small groups or individuals were eventually forced to surrender or were killed by Czech insurgents and the Red Army.

[5][17] A second order on 4 October 1944 authorised the formation of the 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division under the command of SS-Brigadeführer Gustav Lombard, at this point in time, he was still an Oberführer.

[19] The large influx of ethnic Germans that were called up in mid-September, mainly from the Bačka and Swabian Turkey regions, allowed the formation of the new division, which was hastily put together.

They were combined with the existing personnel and equipment of the Kama Division and then stationed in temporary barracks and private quarters in the northern and western Bačka.

[9][25] The appeal of higher pay and benefits, and the mobilisation of soldiers from communities with strong German-speaking populations made the recruitment drive attractive to many.

[23] The second recruitment drive, based on an agreement signed on 22 May 1943, targeted ethnic Germans born between 1908 and 1925, exempting them from service in the Hungarian Home Guard.

[27] The agreement also allowed men serving in the Royal Hungarian Army to apply for the Waffen-SS while on leave, with the provision that they could return to their units after registration.

[27][23] A third and final major recruitment drive followed an agreement signed on 14 April 1944, which broadened the definition of 'German' to include individuals who identified with German culture and nationality, even if they did not meet strict ethnic criteria.

[34][35] There was a small number of other units in the area such as the Brandenburg Division, along with multiple Hungarian River Blockade Detachments to stop the Red Army's advance.

[37][34] After about a week of fighting on the front line, the Bosnians were soon disengaged and began moving to Bosnia, but one group mutinied on 17 October 1944, just before reaching the Croatian border, killing SS-Untersturmführer Fiedler and taking a large number of weapons, including machine guns and a substantial amount of ammunition.

[1] Given the Bačka's famous paprika cultivation and extensive maize fields, both suggestions were appropriate, however, it was finally decided by the division commander, Gustav Lombard, who was known to be a passionate hunter, that the insignia of the new 31st SS-Division would be a twelve-point stag's head.

[2] While working for the Allianz Insurance Company in Munich, Lombard continued to use a stag's head similar to that used by the Division throughout the war on his letterheads, the main difference being that it no longer had a shield and was of a much simpler design.

With some 3,178 men, the division earned the nickname "Kampfgruppe Böhmen-Mähren" and was later, in early historical research and at the first meetings of the HIAG Tracing Service, sometimes mistakenly associated with the numberless 31st SS-Division.

[5][50] With the exception and addition of an extra and third infantry regiment, it retained the old structure and field post numbers of the disbanded Kama Division.